Regardless of divisions he created within his own caucus when he handed over access to thousands of hours of videotape from the assault on the Capitol on Jan. 6 to a Fox News personality, House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has a relatively smooth tenure since it took 15 ballots for him to be handed the speaker's gavel.
As the Daily Beast's Sam Brodey and Ursula Perano wrote, the real test for the California Republican to keep his members in line is on tap as he looks to come up with a budget deal that will satisfy all parties -- including the far-right extremists who have an outsized influence on the party.
According to the report, last week Democrats and Republicans sat down for a briefing on the federal budget and one GOP House member admitted he was surprised at how well they got along, stating, "I don’t think I’ve ever had that happen before, where it was both parties listening, and then both parties going up to the microphone.”
But now the hard work of working out a deal has begun and the House speaker, who has a slim and tenuous majority, is going to have to walk a tightrope to get something done and stave off a rebellion.
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According to the report, "McCarthy’s difficulties are just beginning," adding, "Whether Republicans adopt a budget of their own is an open question—as is how McCarthy could possibly write a budget appeasing all corners of his conference when there are so many contradictory goals."
"Internally, GOP lawmakers have been circulating various proposals, but the most important marker was thrown down publicly on Friday by the House Freedom Caucus, the hard-right group that was most reluctant to back McCarthy," the report states before adding, "The Freedom Caucus said their members would 'consider' voting to lift the debt ceiling if Democrats agreed to undo Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan, rescind unspent COVID relief funds, undo Democrats’ marquee climate bill from last year, and cap non-defense spending at 2022 levels for a decade. In short, it’s a complete nonstarter for Democrats."
"Biden, meanwhile, has similar concerns about the Freedom Caucus proposal. In a brief response Friday morning, he bashed proposed cuts to discretionary spending, which he said don’t match his 'values set,'" the report adds.
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